The present invention is directed to an improved dental mirror that facilitates the accurate visualization and measurement of structures and distances and that facilitates the assessment of parallelism between non-adjacent teeth.
Traditionally, mouth mirrors are provided with round geometries as such mirrors are able to access areas in the mouth without abrading or otherwise aggravating the tissue. Although round mirrors are inexpensive to produce and provide the ideal contact perimeter for a patient""s mouth, such mirrors are not without their own set of limitations. Round mirrors provide a limited field of vision requiring the dentist to move the mirror axially with respect to its handle in order to view large or non-adjacent surfaces. Furthermore, round mirrors are far from ideal in the fabrication of fixed or removable bridgework or in the placement of multiple implants or orthodontic brackets, for the clinician cannot see at once all of the involved structures.
It is noted that in the preparation of most teeth for a fixed bridge or a removable partial denture, there is ideally about 10xc2x0 to 15xc2x0 of taper in precisely the same direction on each tooth or guide plane, allowing a rigid metal or ceramic structure to fit accurately. Less taper will interfere with insertion. More taper will cause unnecessary pulpal trauma, structural weakness of the abutment teeth, and a reduction in the retention of the final restoration. The degree of parallelism between non-adjacent teeth is commonly estimated by carefully moving a small round dental mirror, generally 20 to 24 millimeters in diameter, back and forth from one tooth to another during the teeth preparation process, while attempting to maintain the mirror in exactly the same plane relative to the eye of the clinician. This tedious process introduces inaccuracies.
Large intra-oral mirrors, in the order of 60xc3x97100 millimeters, are designed for the photography of the entire occlusal plane of all teeth on one jaw. By virtue of their size, these mirrors, which lack a handle and frame, are not maneuverable and are not designed to accommodate the simultaneous placement of a dental drill and suction apparatus, as needed for operative procedures.
Numerical measurement of intra-oral structures, distances, and parallelism is commonly determined by visual estimation, by the tedious and lengthy preparation of impressions from which plaster models are produced and measured, or by the intra-oral placement of small rulers or periodontal probes. These less maneuverable rulers and probes often cannot be held immediately adjacent to the structures or space being measured.
The present invention is an improved dental mirror uniquely capable of facilitating the accurate visualization and measurement of structures and distances and for facilitating the assessment of parallelism between non-adjacent teeth. The dental mirror comprises an elongated handle having a longitudinal axis and affixed to at least one end thereof is a mirror frame supporting a mirror. Preferably, the mirror is a planar mirror of rectangular geometry having a perimeter defined by a pair of major parallel edges and minor parallel edges and a series of calibrations along said perimeter whereby at least one of the edges is calibrated by lines of demarcation. The invention also includes a mirror frame having calibrations thereon. An attachment device for securing the frame to the handle is either to be fixed in one of several predetermined angles or adjustable to allow swiveling through these angles.